


Good Enough

by CrazyJ



Category: Hockey RPF
Genre: Group Assault, Happy Ending, M/M, SAves the day, World Cup of Hockey, Writing Prompt, hockey injuries, physical violence, sadness to fluff
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-09-24
Updated: 2016-09-24
Packaged: 2018-08-17 01:20:22
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,894
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/8125009
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/CrazyJ/pseuds/CrazyJ
Summary: PROMPT: Jamie saves Tyler from a group attack on or off the ice. All the fluff.***   When Tyler got the news that he was being pulled from the team, he gave an understanding nod, an endearing smile and a promise to rest up for the season to everyone on the video conference call.  When Tyler said goodbye to everyone on the team, it was with a big smile and heartfelt hugs, holding on a little tighter to the likes of his teammates such as Giroux, Bergeron, Marchand and Crosby who had always treated him well whether he deserved it or not.  When Tyler asked for the first of many drinks at the deadbeat bar in Dallas, it was with a grimace and a steely determination to forget that again he just wasn’t quite good enough.





	

**Author's Note:**

> This story contains some brief mentions of violence. If you found this story by googling yourself or someone you know, please hit the back button immediately.

When Tyler got the news that he was being pulled from the team, he gave an understanding nod, an endearing smile and a promise to rest up for the season to everyone on the video conference call.

When Tyler said goodbye to everyone on the team, it was with a big smile and heartfelt hugs, holding on a little tighter to the likes of his teammates such as Giroux, Bergeron, Marchand and Crosby who had always treated him well whether he deserved it or not.

When Tyler said hello to the flight attendant, it was with a big smile and a flirtatious wink as he settled himself into his seat in first class and waited for the safety demonstration as they prepared to fly.

When Tyler asked for the first of many drinks at the deadbeat bar in Dallas, it was with a grimace and a steely determination to forget that again he just wasn’t quite good enough.

It wasn’t the first time that Tyler had chosen to drink until he forgot what he had done, but it was certainly the first time in a long while that he felt the need to disappear into the bottom of a glass bottle with no regard for where he may come out on the other side. The crash into the boards during the first game of the World Cup pre-tournament hadn’t even been that bad all things considered, but it had been bad enough that Tyler had known instantly that something was wrong and after coming off a disappointing end to the season last year, he wasn’t willing to risk anything more by continuing to play.

The worst part was that his teammates had been so _fucking_ understanding of the whole situation, wishing him the best and nodding as if they understood what it was like to come back from injury after injury after injury. Sure, maybe some of them did actually get what that was like, but they had all gone on to do something after, while Tyler was still short of a title that actually mattered or a cup ring that he could actually appreciate having to fight for. Just once, Tyler wanted the hockey gods to tell him that he was worthy of happiness for a change, that he deserved the scoring titles and accolades that he was always so close to getting, that things were finally going to start being alright again, which was of course the exact moment that things began to go so spectacularly south.

Tyler probably should have been paying more attention to his surroundings the deeper he went into the bottles the waitress kept placing in front of him, but he had figured that in this part of town, no one would really know who he was. He had purposefully picked the back corner of the bar where his face would be in the shadows because even if he just wanted to drink until he forgot, he wasn't actually dumb enough to place himself dead center in the middle of a bar where his misery would be splayed across the front page of the Dallas Observer before morning.

The group had spotted him not long after they had entered the bar as their eyes trailed after the hot leggy blonde waitress who kept disappearing into the corner with a recently opened beer and returning shortly after with an empty one. After the third time she went around the edge of the bar to make her delivery, one of the six men standing around the pool table finally chose to follow after her in hopes of "finding the bathroom," returning moments later with a large devilish grin spread upon his face. 

"Dudes, you will never guess who is drinking himself into oblivion in the corner," the man in the red Chicago Blackhawks hat said as he returned back to the group, cracking his knuckles ominously as he did so.

"The fucking pope, I don't know man, why the fuck should we care?" bit back another, his plain black hat covering his dirty blonde locks which dropped down to cover his shoulders.

"Because he fucked your girlfriend better than you do," red hat said mischievously, his grin growing wider when black hat stood up abruptly from where he was about to bank the number seven ball into the corner pocket, his face blank for several long moments before a matching grin spread across his own visage.

"Well, well, Tyler Seguin is feeling sorry for himself this evening is he?" black hat asked lowly as he looked around at each of his five friends. "Let’s make sure he's going to regret coming here by the end of the evening."

None of the men made any move to walk over while Tyler was sitting in the corner after red hat noted there appeared to be a security camera above the bathroom which was right near his side. Several games of pool later, red hat nudged his buddy, pointing his shoulder to the corner where Tyler was stumbling out from behind the bar, his hat skewed on his head and his face flushed with the alcohol running through his veins, the group watching as he fumbled his wallet out of his pocket and took several attempts before finally paying for his tab. 

As Tyler stepped away from the bar after successfully paying his bill, he felt as a vibration in his pocket alerted him of an incoming call. Pushing his right hand into his pocket, Tyler fished out his phone with more care than a drunk man could normally manage, grimacing when he saw the face on his screen of his good old captain and best friend Jamie who was quite possibly the last person Tyler wanted anything to do with at this exact moment in time. Placing his thumb over the screen, Tyler pressed down on 'ignore,' answering the phone call instead in his innebriated state before shoving his phone back in his pocket and walking out the back door of the bar, closely followed by six large men with purpose.

It wasn't until Tyler was halfway down the poorly lit alleyway that he realized he wasn't alone, tensing suddenly as his shoulders pulled up to his ears, the motion not going unnoticed by the group behind him who let out a collective chuckle at Tyler's increasing discomfort.

Dimly, Tyler thought he heard someone calling his name just as the first hit from behind rammed him into the side of the building, his cheek coming into contact painfully with the brick wall just as hands reached out for him and spun him around, the quick motions making his world spin as he came face to face with his attackers, each with a predatory gleam in their eye as they formed a loose semi-circle around him.

Tyler would be the first to admit that he wasn't much of a fighter on the ice and he was even less of a fighter off the ice which did not bode well for his current predicament as he tried to get his eyes to focus on just how many people he was going up against, the number currently fluctuating anywhere from three to eleven attackers, which did nothing to tamp down the fear that was rising up in his throat and threatening to burst forward. Tyler audibly gulped, focusing on the pain in his heel and face to reign himself in, taking in the seriousness of the situation as he watched each of the men seemingly stretching out and limbering up for something he was sure he wasn't going to like.

"H-h-hello," Tyler stammered, phrasing the word as a question to incite his innocence.

"Well, well, well, if it's not the good ol' Canadian boy who got kicked out of playing for his country," the man in the black hat started to say, stepping closer and causing Tyler's eyes to lose focus, though he was now relatively positive it was six against one here. 

"How does it feel to continuously suck, hey pretty boy?"

"Yeah, pretty boy! Sucks to be you, hey? You hear that pretty boy?" another called as Tyler felt his palms start to sweat.

"Tyler Seguin, continuous disappointment," red hat added with a cruel laugh, the comment like a punch to the gut to an already wounded ego.

"Do I...do I know you?" Tyler asked, using all of his focus to get the sentence out in as few tries as possible.

"No, but you are about to!" one of the larger men to his right cried definitively, physically snarling in Tyler's direction which had enough of its intended effect as Tyler flinched away from the motion, his brain reeling with alcohol and a legitimate concern for his well-being as the group laughed at his unease.

"Does the name Lisa Hyman ring a bell?" black hat asked, crossing his rather large arms across his rather large chest in a rather largely menacing manner. 

"Sort of?" Tyler responded slowly, bringing a hand up to his head which was pounding with all sorts of pain and agony.

"Well pretty boy, you fucked the wrong girl because Lisa is mine, you hockey playing whore," black hat spat with a wicked grin, the collective group taking one step closer to Tyler who remained cowering against the wall. 

"I...I...what?" Tyler stammered out, looking back and forth between the men. "I...I slept with her. No, not did, I didn't...I didn't...not do it. No, I...didn't do it. F-f-fuck my head."

"I don't give a shit about your fucking head you tool, you slept with my girlfriend you piece of shit!" black hat shouted, stepping forward and delivering a sharp blow to Tyler's gut, who doubled over and gasped as pain and nausea rolled over him simultaneously just as black hat laid another blow.

"Stop, stop!" Tyler shouted, another blow ringing across his back. "It was pretend!"

"What did you say?" red hat asked accusingly, prodding Tyler painfully in the side of his head. 

"She...she...asked me to pretend. Make him angry. Jealous," Tyler yelled loudly into his forearms where he had his face nestled in protection.

"Bull shit it was, you are just saying that so we don't beat the shit out of you," red hat replied angrily.

"Is it working?" Tyler muttered quietly through a grimace, though the swift kick he got to his ribs immediately following told him that he had spoken louder than he had intended.

"Why the fuck would Lisa need to make me jealous?" black hat asked with another kick to the gut, this time succeeding in making Tyler hurl, all six of the men jumping back in disgust as Tyler's throat burned with the weight of his decisions over the last few weeks which had brought him here, about to be beaten to a pulp in the back alley of a grungy part of Dallas, which until now Tyler had very much considered a second home.

Tyler hurled again, the noise covering the disturbance at the end of the alleyway as two voices called out, sending Tyler's attackers scattering, a wide sweeping light shaking rapidly down the passage as Tyler rolled to his side, pain spiking in several parts of his body as voices continued to shout out and sirens burst into the air making Tyler cringe as the noise spiked directly into the center of his brain. Tyler felt after a brief lull as hands grabbed at his side and rolled him into his back, grabbing at his face more gingerly than Tyler would have warranted considering his eyes were squeezed shut and he didn't know which of his attackers was holding him.

"Tyler! Tyler!" a familiar voice shouted, which was how Tyler knew he had died as there was no way that he was possibly there right now. "Tyler, open your eyes and look at me so I know you're okay!"

A long tense second passed where the only noise to be heard was Tyler and the man's heavy breathing mixed in with the sounds of the sirens which seemed to be getting weaker and weaker as the time passed. After a moment, Tyler hesitantly opened his eyes to reveal Jamie's wrecked expression kneeling over top of him.

"You're not real," Tyler whispered into the night air as the hold on his face tightened with worry. "I'm...dead, aren't I?" 

"Don't be stupid, you big drama queen, of course it's really me" Jamie barked out with a forced laugh, his hold on Tyler's face tightening once more. "I'm here. I'm here. Oh jesus, I'm really here Tyler, you're safe now."

"How d-d-did you find me?" Tyler barely managed to get out, his eyes filling with tears whether from the pain radiating around his body or the fact that Jamie had come for him in his time of need suddenly completely irrelevant. 

"I called you, don't you remember?" Jamie asked, his brow furrowing further in concern.

"But I...ignored," Tyler muttered, his head lolling heavily to the side despite Jamie's grip.

"No, you answered the call," Jamie replied gingerly. "You might have thought you hit ignore, but you answered the call and I heard the group falling you and I could hear what they were planning, even if it was pretty muffled."

"But how did you find me?" Tyler questioned slowly, his mouth suddenly going dry.

"I put one of those find your phone apps on my own phone months ago and linked it to yours since you are always losing yours. As soon as I realized something was wrong I pulled it up and we came after you."

"We?" Tyler asked, his eyes drooping shut as a light swept across the alley and footsteps approached.

"Hey buddy," another familiar voice sounded a moment later and Tyler opened his eyes once more to see the older Benn leaning over his brother, the same concerned expression etched upon his features. 

"Jordie," Tyler said with a content sigh, letting his head drop back against the dirty concrete and letting his muscles loosen with a groan now that he knew he was really safe. "You guys...came for me."

"I'm always going to come for you," Jamie said sincerely, Tyler not missing the pronoun choice despite the pounding in his brain.

"So fast?" Tyler mumbled, leaning his head towards Jordie in hopes he'd understand the ensuing question.

"There may or may not have been some light speeding involved," Jordie replied casually, Tyler just barely catching the shoulder shrug through his slitted eyes and chuckling, regretting it immediately as pain washed over his entire body.

"Shit, Tyler are you okay?" Jamie asked worriedly, leaning closer to Tyler and tightening his grip to a painful level.

"Yeah, yeah I'm...f-fine Jamie, but could you-u-u maybe loosen your grip a bit, you...re hurting me?" Tyler asked apologetically, grimacing when Jamie almost literally jumped back away from him his eyes wide, Tyler already missing his warm touch keeping him safe. "C-c-can you just t-take me home?"

"I think we should take you to the hospital, Tyler," Jordie said cautiously, placing a gentle hand on Tyler's tricep and with the help of his brother, guiding Tyler to his feet, discomfort and all.

"N-n-not tonight," Tyler stammered. "I...don't w-want this getting into the papers that, that, that drunk Tyler Seguin got beat up by o-o-opposing fans. S-s-sleep tonight, doc tom...tomorrow."

"Are you sure?" Jordie pushed, his brow still furrowed.

"S-safe with you. Here. With...Jamie," Tyler said softly, looking up at Jamie with blown eyes, his drunken gaze confessing everything he had kept locked up for so long. "Okay with you."

"Alright," Jordie said reluctantly, looking back and forth between Jamie and Tyler, a knowing expression settling on his face. "But I'm coming to pick you both up tomorrow and we are taking you to see doc and her team whether you like it or not."

"Okay," Tyler said with a weak smile, taking a step forward down the alleyway and finding that some of the initial pain had receded as time had passed. "C-c-come home with me, Jamie?"

"I was home as soon as I got here," Jamie whispered, his eyes burrowing into Tyler's as he stopped and pulled him back, his expression honest with so many unspoken words. "You should have come home to me as soon as you got back, Tyler. Not to some rundown bar in the middle of nowhere. You're better than this now."

"I wasn't good enough for you again," Tyler whispered back, stutter gone with the conviction, his head drooping with the weight of another competition Tyler hadn't been ready for; ready for himself or ready for Jamie.

"Tyler," Jamie said gently, pulling his face up gently and cupping the younger man's cheeks with both hands. "You are always good enough for me, just the way you are."

"Blegh," a loud hurling noise sounded suddenly, disrupting the moment, Jordie doubling over in mock nausea. "Too. Blegh. Many. Blegh. Feelings. Blegh!"

"Shut up, Jordie," Tyler said with a small laugh, the first genuine smile since he had gotten back to Dallas spreading across his features. 

"Come home with me?" Tyler asked again, ignoring Jordie's continued actions and looking back at the only Benn for him.

"Yeah, Tyler. Now that you are here, I am home."

**FIN**

**Author's Note:**

> 1) When I got asked to write this fic, the first thing that came to my mind was Tyler hiding in a bar after an injury. I was originally planning on writing this fic based off of the end of last season, but our poor baby got hurt not long after my idea so I adjusted it to fit around the World Cup of Hockey and played with the timeline a bit. 
> 
> 2) I have no idea why every time I write Tyler I always write him being drunk??? Like literally three for three here on stories I've written about him, though I think they all served a purpose and weren't written in a bad or degrading way?? I promise I'll eventually write a story where he stays sober the entire time though. Eventually. Maybe.
> 
> 3) When I drink excessively (which is admittedly very rare), I always end up sounding like a bumbling fool. Stuttering Tyler in this fic is because he's drunk and in pain, not because he is concussed, just wanted to make that clear.
> 
> 4) This was the first prompt I've been asked to write and it was a ton of fun! If you'd like to see me write something else, come hang out at hobrerek.tumblr.com and I'd love to spitball some ideas!


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